how to paint mustang side moldings
 

hi i just got my new side moldings for my 88 mustang lx. they are black plastic and i just wanted to know if i could buy the matching paint and spray it on? should i prime and sand them first? how many coats? thanks.

are they textured or smooth already

should be smooth, should be primered from the factory, but some come painted
first determine what surface your dealing with and get back to me
if they are bare plastic is a different prcess than paint or primer

yea they are just bare plastic.

Thread moved to "Show, Shine and Audio" section.

use a 3m scotchbrite pad and some house hold AJAX cleaner get a pail and some water soak the pad then shake on some ajax and thoroughly scuff the surface. you need a plastic adhesion promoter of some sort then primer it, then sand it and paint it
if you need any help PM me sadly i paint for a living lol

Very cool job!!!

btw....I had my rockers painted and they look fabulous!

actually i love the custom aspect, but i work in a collison based shop its rather tedious, would like to start my own thing for custom paint and body, but no one wants to pay they think i can do perfection for peanuts lol

glad they turned out good for ya :D

thanks for the advice everybody! but where would i aquire factory paint?? i thought i heard that napa auto does paint? thanks again!

You should be able to find a body shop supply in toronto,, I normally wipe down plastics with a mix of viniger and rubbing Alcohol to get rid of the traces of silicone used in the release agents,,, body shop supply sell it as Prep , or you can get fish eyes.

Yes, Napa does auto paint but (a very big but) that doesn't mean they'll get it right. We've bought from two different Napa stores, one store did a perfect match for my daughters Grand Am. A different Napa store did a terrible job matching the paint for hubby's International. It's all about the guy doing the mixing, not the store.

the release agents wont cause fish eyes, release agents will prevent the paint from sticking and it WILL start peeling
rubbing alcohol is great for getting rid of the release agents and helping kill the static charge of raw plastic, vinegar im not sure why but hey all the power to ya

as for mixing the paint any good shop that mixes their own paint will match your paint mix you what ya need and sell it to you i do it couple time a week at my shop